Spirit Baptism

David Perry, Ph.D. (2015), Australian Catholic University, is Vice President – Academic at Alphacrucis College in Sydney, Australia. As a theologian his focus is Pentecostal theology and he is a minister with Australian Christian Churches.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction1 How Did We Get Here?1.1 Towards a Working Definition of Spirit Baptism1.2 Spirit Baptism in Pentecostal Focus1.2.1 Biblical Analysis1.2.2 Exegetical Challenges1.2.3 Theological Contributions1.3 The Need for Further Reflection2 Experience and Meaning2.1 Pentecostal Philosophy and Worldview 2.2 Experience 2.2.1 Overcoming the Subjective/Objective Divide2.2.2 Experience as Pre-conceptual2.2.3 Experience as a Source of Doctrine2.2.4 The Interpreted Character of Experience2.2.5 Summary2.3 Bernard Lonergan’s Functions of Meaning2.3.1 Lonergan and Spirit Baptism Elsewhere2.4 Concluding Remarks3 Spirit Baptism and Cognitive Meaning3.1 The Cognitive Function of Meaning Revisited 3.2 What has Commonly Been Asserted about Pentecostal Spirit Baptism? 3.2.1 Distinct From or Subsequent to Conversion 3.2.2 The Purpose of Spirit Baptism is Enduement with Power 3.2.3 Evidenced by Speaking in Tongues 3.2.4 Summary 3.3 Identifying the Core Assertions about Spirit Baptism 3.3.1 To Name is to Give Meaning 3.3.2 The Distinction between Judgement and Understanding 3.4 Spirit Baptism is an Experience of the Holy Spirit 3.4.1 Phenomenology 3.4.2 The Question of Authority and the Chosen Sources 3.4.3 Scripture 3.4.4 Understanding 3.5 Concluding Remarks 4 Spirit Baptism and Effective Meaning4.1 The Effective Function of Meaning Revisited 4.2 Spirit Baptism and Eschatology 4.3 Spirit Baptism as a Catalyst for Evangelism and Missions 4.4 Shifting Eschatology 4.5 Spirit Baptism and Social Action 4.6 Changes in Effective Meaning 4.7 The Effective Function of Spirit Baptism Today 4.7.1 Created Participation in Passive Spiration4.7.2 An Outpouring of Divine Love4.7.3 A Broader Concept of Empowerment4.8 Concluding Remarks 5 Spirit Baptism and Constitutive Meaning5.1 The Constitutive Function of Meaning Revisited 5.2 The Constitutive Function of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism 5.2.1 Historically 5.2.2 Presently 5.3 Concrete Ecclesiology and the Challenge of Constitutive Meaning 5.4 A Way Forward 5.4.1 Institution and Charisma 5.4.2 Operators and Integrators 5.4.3 The Capacity for Spirit Baptism to Function Constitutively 5.5 Concluding Remarks 6 Spirit Baptism and Communicative Meaning 6.1 The Communicative Function of Meaning Revisited 6.2 Glossolalia as a Communication of Elemental Meaning 6.2.1 Theological Perspectives 6.2.2 Narrative Perspectives 6.3 The Communication of the Doctrine of Spirit Baptism 6.3.1 Case Study: Pentecostal Spirit Baptism in Ecumenical Discussion 6.4 A Suggested Rewording of the Doctrine 6.5 Concluding Remarks Appendix A: Testimonies of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism Appendix B: AG US Conversions and Spirit Baptisms 1979–2003Appendix C: AG US Water Baptisms and Spirit Baptisms 1979–2012 Appendix D: ACC Conversions and Spirit Baptisms 2005–2013 Appendix E: ACC Water Baptisms and Spirit Baptisms 2005–2013 Appendix F: National Church Life Survey 1991–2011BibliographyIndex

"In many ways, this should be a welcome addition to the debate on Spirit Baptism among Pentecostals. Methodologically, it brings something new to the discussion. It avoids the biblical-exegetical approach which is a well-trodden path often comprising quotations and counter-quotations on the various points. It also consciously tries to avoid the common points of contention, such as sequentialism and initial evidence. In this sense, this is a breath of fresh air to the debate on the issue of Spirit Baptism."Chigor Chike, University of Roehampton, PentecoStudies 18.1 (2019), pp. 117–118."C’est ce à quoi sont consacrés les chapitres suivants, fondés sur la réflexion de Lonergan, qui cherchent à expliquer la signification du baptême dans l’Esprit pentecôtiste selon les quatre dimensions du sens dégagées par le théologien canadien : cognitive, efficiente, constitutive et communicative."Istina 2019/2, pp. 268-269.